Screen Time
by raichu100
Summary: Seto isn't sure how to explain to Mokuba how he should handle the feelings of his first crush, so he tries a hands-on approach instead.


"Seto?"

Seto Kaiba paused mid-sip and lowered his mug of after-dinner tea to his desk before looking up from his laptop to see his kid brother peeking around the doorway to his home office.

"I…was wondering if…I could talk to you about something?"

Mokuba Kaiba's voice was strangely hesitant. That wasn't like his brother at all. Well, whatever was bothering him, Seto would fix it. The one thing Seto was more dedicated to than his company was his brother. Scooting his chair back, Seto propped his feet up on the file cabinet beneath his desk, steepled his fingers, and invited Mokuba in.

Mokuba walked in and sat himself in one of the two plush green velvet chairs facing the desk. Instead of getting straight to the point, though, he fidgeted for a minute, ran a hand through his unruly long black hair – something he only did when he was nervous – and took a few deep breaths. Finally, he said, "Don't you ever miss our new friends?"

Startled, Seto blinked. "No."

Mokuba gave a nervous, false-sounding laugh. "Well, I know _you_ don't. But I do. It's been two months now since…"

"Two months? Mokuba, it's only been a few weeks since we got back from Egypt. Is time really going that slowly for you?"

"Oh, well, yeah. But I was talking about before that. The Great Leviathan and the Orichalcos, you remember?"

"Yes." How could he forget? Seto felt a profound sense of unease whenever he thought about any of the supernatural events he'd been forced to participate in. He could no longer deny the existence of magic or monsters or parallel worlds, but he'd rather not think about it if he could help it. He itched to return to his laptop, to the business proposal he'd been writing…

"Well, you remember the people who were helping us?"

"You mean helping Yugi and his entourage of losers."

"They're not losers, Seto! They're my friends. And I really miss them."

Seto was relieved that the conversation was veering away from magic and monsters, but he wasn't sure where it _was_ headed, exactly. What was Mokuba's point? No one was stopping him from seeing his friends.

"Mokuba, I've already told you, I don't care if you want to spend time with your…friends. Roland will take you anywhere too far for you to walk. In fact, I don't even care if they come over here, just as long as you keep them out of my hair." Seto took another sip of his tea. At this rate, it would get cold before he finished drinking it.

"They can't all come over," Mokuba mumbled. "They don't all live in Domino."

"Who are you talking about?" Seto ran over the list of idiots he'd been forced to deal with. There was Yugi's ever-present fan club, of course – Téa the friendship girl, Tristan the buffoon, Joey the dog – and there was Duke, the weirdo whose dad owned a card shop across town, and Mai, the self-absorbed beauty who was visiting from nearby. She didn't live in Domino, but Seto had a feeling she wasn't who Mokuba was talking about. Was it Serenity? Wheeler's sister lived out of town, but wasn't she visiting right now?

"You don't remember…Rebecca?"

Mokuba's uncharacteristically quiet voice shook Seto out of his musings. Seto was shocked to see that Mokuba's cheeks had a slight flush to them. "Mokuba, are you feeling well? Come here."

"I'm fine, Seto," the black-haired boy protested even as he allowed Seto to feel his forehead.

"Your face was red."

"I'm okay!" Mokuba returned to his green chair and Seto frowned. His temperature appeared to be normal – so why was the red flush deepening?

Was it the subject of their conversation? Was it bothering him somehow? Seto decided to return to the topic and see. "Are you talking about Rebecca Hawkins? Wasn't she the stuck-up little girl who wouldn't leave Yugi alone?"

"She's not stuck-up!"

"Whatever you say. Anyway, what about her?" Seto's eyes wandered back to his laptop. Why was Mokuba so upset? He wasn't getting to the point.

"Well…I was just wondering…" Mokuba fidgeted some more.

"Just spit it out, Mokuba."

"Seto, did you ever feel…funny…around a girl? Did you ever feel like your heart was going too fast and your face was hot? What does that mean?"

For once, Seto was shocked into silence.

After a moment, he responded. "No. I don't think so."

"Oh."

More silence.

"I think I know what your problem is, though." Seto hesitated, something he very rarely did. He recognized the signs, even though he'd never experienced them; Mokuba was going through his first crush. Seto had certainly seen pretty girls, even enjoyed looking at them or exchanging a few words, but he'd never allowed his emotions to get so caught up as to compromise his work or studies. Mokuba, however, could afford to be a little more carefree.

"What is it?" Mokuba prompted when Seto didn't continue.

"You like her," Seto said matter-of-factly.

"Ah…that's what I thought."

The silence stretched on again. Seto was distinctly uncomfortable. He'd heard all about the birds and the bees at the orphanage, when Mokuba was still too young for those lessons, and suffered through puberty himself in silence. Never once had it occurred to him, when assuming legal guardianship of Mokuba, that he'd have to deal with his brother going through the same. Then he felt guilty: why hadn't he thought of that? Was he really leaving Mokuba to struggle through this experience with no guide?

Then he had an idea.

"Have you told her how you felt?"

"No."

"Have you talked to her at all since she went back home?"

"No. I was going to ask for her email, but I was too nervous."

"So you're not even going to tell her how you feel?"

"Well…I want to…"

Seto leaned forward. "Mokuba, I can tell this is bothering you. She won't be in town again until next summer. How would you like to talk to her?"

"Talk to her?"

"Yes. Right now."

"Oh, _could_ I?"

"Bring your laptop in here. I'll get video chat installed for you." Seto minimized his word processor and opened up his browser. He knew the Internet as well as he did the streets of Domino, if not better, and it took him only seconds to pull up the professional profile of one Arthur Hawkins, Professor of Egyptology. A quick phone call to the professor gave him the home phone number where he could reach his granddaughter on video phone.

Mokuba came back with his computer tucked under his arm and plugged it in on the coffee table in the office's corner, sinking into one of his brother's soft black armchairs. Seto felt a strange warmth rise in his chest. He had long since decided that this was happiness; it was something he only felt when he saw Mokuba's face lit up the way it was. He didn't even mind sitting himself down in one of the armchairs, abandoning his work for now, and devoting his attention into making sure Mokuba's glowing smile never left his face.

The glow of the laptop bathed Rebecca Hawkins's face in a pale light as she scrolled through her second-level programming assignment. She was taking college classes online and was using the summer to get ahead; with only a few weeks to go, she wanted to make sure she didn't fall behind on her studies. At thirteen years of age, Rebecca was a certified genius, having just finished her first year of college at the local university. This particular college student still lived with her mom year-round, slept with her teddy bear, and had never gone out with a boy. Even thoughts of Yugi Moto, who she'd practically been in love with during her visit to Domino, were infrequent now.

Rebecca liked working like this, with all her lights off and only her laptop on, curled up in her bed and with a glass of milk on her bedside table. She adjusted her glasses, which everyone said made her childlike face appear older and more sophisticated, as she read the last few paragraphs of her assignment and minimized the browser window in order to get to work. Her usually neat blond hair was in disarray from leaning on her pillow.

"Rebecca, honey!" Mrs. Hawkins's voice came from down the hall, in the kitchen, where she was probably fixing her lunch for the next day and listening to the radio, a nightly routine.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes – she _was_ a teenager, after all – Rebecca called back, "Yes, mom?"

"You have a phone call."

"Can you bring it in here? I'm doing homework."

"It's a video call. You'll have to come into the kitchen to get it."

Surprised, Rebecca got out of bed, took off the ratty t-shirt she'd been wearing all day and slipped on a clean shirt from her drawer. Who would be video calling her? She didn't have any friends her age who lived in town. She felt a slight ache; she hadn't attended a school with children her age since she was six, and while she was usually quite happy, there were days when she simply longed for young companionship, someone to talk to about nothing, play on her computer with, or watch movies…

But she _did_ have friends. Friends who lived halfway across the country. As she padded into the kitchen, her heart leapt: maybe it was Yugi!

The face on the kitchen video phone monitor couldn't have surprised her more. An imposing figure, with smooth brown hair and icy blue eyes, stared out at her, and Rebecca recognized him instantly.

"Kaiba! _You're_ calling me? What could you possibly want with me?" Immediately she regretted being so rude, but she didn't have time to apologize.

Kaiba actually smiled. Rebecca thought back to the time she'd spent in Domino: had she ever seen him do that? "I don't want anything to do with you, Rebecca Hawkins. But there's someone here who does." The screen shifted as though a laptop was being moved, and then another fact came into focus: slightly darker skin, long and shaggy black hair, big gray eyes.

"Mokuba!"

Rebecca was surprised at how happy she was to see Kaiba's little brother. She hadn't given him a lot of thought while she was in Domino: he was the imposing and important Seto Kaiba's little brother; she'd bantered with him a few times and even found that she enjoyed hanging around him, but she'd given him little thought because she was rarely alone with him; Yugi was always there.

"Hi, Rebecca." Mokuba smiled, and then blushed. It was surprisingly cute. "What have you been up to?"

"I was just working on some programming homework," Rebecca said, seating herself at the kitchen table. "I'm taking second-level programming as a summer course so I can get ahead for my college classes this fall." Immediately she wished she could have reworded that. Would Mokuba think she was showing off? Would he be bored by mentions of college? Rebecca knew that most thirteen-year-olds were not in college, but she'd never really considered how to broach the subject with a peer. She'd just crowed about it with Yugi hoping to impress him, but realized later that her smugness and bragging had only put him off.

To her surprise, Mokuba grinned. "That's awesome! I love programming! Seto's already showed me how to do a bunch of stuff on my laptop." He glanced to the side; Seto Kaiba must still be in the room. Rebecca had nearly forgotten about him.

"That's right – you like computers, don't you?" She tried to forget about Kaiba's presence. "I remember you helping me do some hacking in Domino…" She glanced up; her mother was gone. Good. She'd needed to do what she did in order to save the world from a giant monster that had torn its way n from a different dimension, not to mention a madman half-ghost from an ancient city. She was pretty sure her mom wouldn't believe it, though, and she'd rather her parents didn't find out about her hacking skills.

"Yeah, I remember. You were really good at it!"

To her surprise, Rebecca felt her cheeks grow warm. Had she ever been complimented by someone her own age? She suddenly realized just how happy she was to be talking to Mokuba. She settled in for a long conversation. Her programming homework could wait – it wasn't due until tomorrow night, anyway.

Two hours and three glasses of milk later, Rebecca finally said goodbye to her friend. She had given him her email and invited him to call her again soon. She found herself looking forward to next summer and her annual trip to Domino with her grandfather – not because of an unrequited crush on Yugi, but because she wanted to see Mokuba again.

Nine months after his awkward conversation in Seto's office, and his first video chat with Rebecca Hawkins, Mokuba found himself walking through the crowded Domino Airport with Yugi Moto and his grandfather, Solomon. Solomon was here to meet an old friend, someone he saw every year. Yugi was here to meet a friend too. Mokuba hoped he was here for more than just a friend.

They stopped just outside of the baggage claim; Solomon checked his watch and said, "We're right on time. They should be here any second." Mokuba felt his heart race. What was he going to do? Would Rebecca actually like him in person? What if she went right back to following Yugi around? How would Mokuba ever ask her out then?

"Solomon!" An older man emerged from the crowd and waved.

"Arthur!" The two men embraced. Yugi shook Arthur Hawkins's hand, even as he looked around apprehensively for his usual ambusher.

A streak of long blond hair flew past Yugi before he could even react and Mokuba felt himself knocked backwards; it was all he could do to keep his balance. "MOKUBA!"

Joy exploded. She was here, and she really _was_ glad to see him! Mokuba embraced his friend, breathing in the scent of shampoo in her hair. Was this what it was like to have a girlfriend? He liked it. But she wasn't his girlfriend; not yet, anyway. She'd be here for a month. Mokuba stepped back and grinned, surveying her dark blue eyes and happy smile. He'd make the most of the time he had.

The look Yugi gave him as they walked out the airport was the strangest Mokuba had ever seen.

A few moments later they reached the car, and Arthur called Rebecca to help him with their suitcases. Mokuba and Yugi stood for a moment awkwardly looking at each other. Finally Mokuba asked, "You don't mind, do you, Yugi?"

"Mind what?" Yugi asked.

"If I ask Rebecca out?"

Yugi's eyebrows rose, then he laughed. "I was wondering why she crashed into you, like she used to do to me! I thought she'd chosen you as her next victim! You two have been talking, haven't you?"

"Over video chat. Seto set it up for me on my computer."

Yugi smiled. "Of course I don't mind, Mokuba. In fact, I wish you the best of luck." He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "You might be interested in knowing that there's a nice florist down the street from my house. We're having dinner there tonight – you should join us."

Mokuba smiled. "Thanks, Yugi. You're the best."

On the way back in Solomon's car, Yugi exchanged pleasantries with Rebecca, then pointedly rolled down his window and gazed out of it, pulling out his MP3 player as he did so. Mokuba pounced on the opportunity. Seto may not have known much about girls, but he had told Mokuba everything he _did_ know about them, and one was that girls liked flowers. Yugi's suggestion was perfect; Mokuba was not going to be too afraid to miss this chance to impress her.

Summoning up all of his courage, Mokuba took Rebecca's hand. "What kind of flowers do you like?"

She smiled and replied, "Carnations." And she intertwined her fingers with his.

This was going to be the best summer Mokuba had ever had.


End file.
